In order to defeat Manas, the wicked warlord thought of a venomous scheme. He wrote a letter to Shipshiayidar, a famed sharpshooter who lived on hunting the wild animals in the mountainous area. A homing pigeon sent the expert marksman a letter to the effect that his superb ability was badly needed in the upcoming decisive fight with Manas’ grand army. The letter read as follows: “Kyrgyz soldiers’ onslaught could not be withstood although we have fought with them painstakingly. They seized our capital, raped our beauties and mounted our throne. I tried to assassinate Manas with a poisonous axe but my efforts failed finally. The troops of Manas are now stationed on the hillside. And Manas swore to kill all the Khitan people. As a supercilious guy, Manas considers you are too mean for his notice. I have no choice but to ask you for help. I really hope you will show your superb ability before the guy bloated with pride.” Shipshiayidar totally believed what Konurbai had written on this letter. The sharpshooter and Almambet learned martial arts together
Legend of Manas
before. Different from the Khitan prince who dropped out of school because of the illness of his father, Shipshiayidar persevered in his studies until he was adept in archery. In no time, he became an archery legend. If he shot an arrow in the daytime somewhere, all the animals passed by right there at night would also lose their lives. By and by, others forgot his real name. Instead, he was known as a “merciless hitman” from home and abroad. Immediately after receiving the letter, Shipshiayidar and his sixty understrappers headed to the barracks of Konurbai.
Almambet supposed that Konurbai would likely to collude with the sharpshooter in the imminent decisive fight fifteen days later. The Khitan prince wanted to kill the sharpshooter with a total of twelve different forms on his way to the battlefield. After seeing numerous bully-boys of Konurbai bunch up like swarms of locusts, Almambet could not help letting out cries from time to time. “Manas should go back home and put the decisive fight on the back burner. The merciless killer had been invited to take part in the upcoming fighting. The enemies have already driven us into the predicament. At present we have to meet the challenge. All of us might die for you. You should be prepared for this. We’ll have to insist on fighting no matter how dangerous our future might be,” he sighed.
However, the god seemed not to bless Kyrgyz fighters. The situation was not in favor of the grand army of Manas. The terrible archer succeeded in conjuring up a heavy rainfall which churned up the waves in a river. Owing to the theurgy, he traversed the river unnoticed at last. When the Khitan prince found the secret, the river water restored calm once again. Only after that did the Khitan prince realize that the merciless killer had managed to meet with Konurbai in the forest across the river. Almambet and Chubak had no choice but to fight with the sixty understrappers of Shipshiayidar. While shouting the pro-Manas slogans, they killed all the sixty bully-boys for a short while. After that, the warriors made it to their barracks. On the way back, Almambet was cursed with an ominous hunch that a holocaust was approaching.
Kokcho was arranged to guard the rear area at the beginning. Having seen that many other khans and their soldiers already went home, he was all gaging for coming to Manas and paying respect to the paramount khan. “Manas Khan is my brother-in-law while Almambet is my close friend. Given the fact that Manas and his warriors stay here, I would also like to be a fixture during
Legend of Manas
all the future wars aimed to overthrow the wicked warlord’s rule,” Kokcho thought. As a result, he and his 50,000-strong army joined Manas’ dare-to-die corps. All the warriors were overjoyed at the arrival of such a brave general and his troops.
The curtain of such an unprecedented decisive fight had been raised.
A giant named Mard was sent into the battlefield by Konurbai first of all with a view to depleting the physical strength of Manas and his warriors. With a strong build, Mard had no rival in physical prowess. After the wrestle for some time, Almambet, Chubak and Serik felt their wish of defeating the giant far exceeded their ability. Almost at the age of forty, the giant was full of vigor and vitality. Finally, Serik, an intelligent warrior, succeeded in striking the giant’s helmet down to the ground with his weapon. Almost at the same time, Chubak thrust his long spear into the hind neck of the giant, seriously wounding the tough enemy. Serik followed up such an unexpected victory with another clever hit on the giant’s throat so as not to allow the enemy a breathing spell. Almambet was unable to restrain his anger while standing nearby. Before the malicious-looking giant flopped down onto the ground eventually, the Khitan prince dashed to the enmey and thrust his bayonet at his head as well. Fortunately, every blow told. As a huge mountain collapsed with a bang, the fierce-looking giant succumbed to his wounds at last.
As the night alsmost fell, some people rushed into the palace of Manas in a fluster, saying: “Your Majesty, Qalmaq soldiers are charging at us now. How can we repulse the enemy attacks?”
Manas was annoyed at what was going on in the battlefield. He clenched his teeth in anger, saying: “Lead my horse in as soon as possible. And fetch my coat armor here! I will take up arms to drive all the emenies away.”
Kokcho said: “Your Majesty. I was responsible for guarding the frontier during the previous fights instead of taking part in military operations. Just let me take the responsibility of repulsing the attacks of enemies this time if it comes to the pinch. I am bursting to do something good for Alasha people.” Having seen the bold and firm behavior of Kokcho, Manas expressed consent to his requirement of taking part in fighting.
